Sing We Now of Christmas

By Anne B. Walsh

Celebrate the holiday spirit with three musical stories from Anne B. Walsh:

"Laeti Triumphantes": Isabel de Maine and Nevan O'Grady find they have similar taste in carols... what else will they share at Christmas, 1786? From the Chronicles of Glenscar.

"Glorious Song of Old": Eleven-year-old Carol lives on a world without music, but that doesn't stop her from wanting it. When a starship set up as a zoo comes to her planet deep in December, she discovers a secret about the creatures on display. The spirit of Christmas prompts her to set the captives free, but that might mean her own dreams will never come true...

"The Angel and the Rose": Lady mage Cecily Ashe and her betrothed, Barnabas Lecomte of the Order of Middle Knights, invite you to a ball in honor of their Christmastime wedding. Commoners, or those without magic, need not apply. Come in costume, from a story you doubt the other guests will know. But keep your wits about you, for at this ball, nothing is as it seems...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anne B. Walsh
• Release date: Dec 7, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301898756

Anne B. Walsh

Anne B. Walsh was telling stories about magic and intrigue from the time she could talk, but it took her twenty years to realize she could make a living at it. Her first novel, historical fantasy "A Widow in Waiting", has its origins in a PBS special which changed her life; her second, family-focused fantasy "Homecoming", takes its inspiration from some of her other writing; and her third, soft science fiction "Killdeer", stems from her constant interest in the ways in which the future and the past coincide. Anne lives east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with one roommate (Krystal), two black Labs (Buddy and Brando), and two black cats (Starsky and Hutch). Sadly, their Cane Corso mastiff, Bruce, passed away in mid-August 2013, and their first cats, Poppy and Sesame, who helped inform Anne's first collection of short stories, "Cat Tales", passed out of their lives after an accident on Christmas Day 2013. No one ever said life was fair. Anne's parents and siblings live two hours north of her, otherwise known as just far enough away. She has also been writing Harry Potter fan fiction for more than ten years and is known best in that genre as the creator of the "Dangerverse" alternate universe (which inspired "Homecoming"). Beyond writing fiction, Anne's preoccupations include reading fiction; singing anywhere that will have her, including her church and local galas; theatre, especially musicals; all forms of cooking; and her family and friends. Within writing fiction, her preoccupations are much the same, meaning most of her stories involve loving families, delicious food, and good music. Consider yourself warned. A number of projects continue to need Anne's attention as she writes her original novels. Among these are her ongoing fanfiction works in various fandoms such as Harry Potter and Frozen, and the themed fantasy anthologies she co-authors with her friend and fellow author Elizabeth Conall.

Book preview

Sing We Now of Christmas

Tales of music and marvels

Second Revision (2013)

Anne B. Walsh

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012, 2013 Anne B. Walsh

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Author’s Note

Epigraph

Laeti Triumphantes

Glorious Song of Old

The Angel and the Rose

About the Author

Dedication

To my family.

A

very

merry

Christmas

to you:

the mom,

the dad,

the brother,

the sister,

the other one,

and the grandmom.

Love

you!

Author’s Note

Laeti Triumphantes features characters from my first original novel, A Widow in Waiting, published in June of 2012.

Glorious Song of Old features characters from my upcoming novel Killdeer, the first quarter of which was included (as Music Hath Charms) in my personal anthology of feline-themed fiction, Cat Tales, published in April of 2013.

The Angel and the Rose is an originalization of a fan fiction piece entitled The Point of No Return, previously published on various websites.

Thank you.

Epigraph

Sing we now of Christmas,

Noel sing we here!

Hear our grateful praises

To the babe so dear!

Sing we Noel,

The King is born, Noel!

Sing we now of Christmas,

Sing we all Noel!

– Sing We Now of Christmas

Traditional Christmas Carol

Tune: "Noël nouvelet"

Laeti Triumphantes

Do you know this one? Lady Isabel de Maine asked her friend, pointing to the open, rather battered book of music sitting on the rack of the Broadwood pianoforte.

"Noël nouvelet? Nevan O’Grady grinned, his usual quick flash of teeth, at the hash his Irish accent had made of the French title. Doesn’t everybody?"

It has been around for quite a long time, Isabel acknowledged, tucking a bit of her dark hair behind one ear as she leaned forward to read the few lines of text beneath the musical notation, her brown eyes narrowed. Since the fifteenth century, it says here, and we’re coming close to the end of the eighteenth now, so three hundred years at the least.

Longer than either of us have been here, for sure. Nevan chuckled. Shall we?

As you wish, my lord, Isabel said teasingly, pretending to curtsey and instead seating herself on the bench. Nevan accorded her a shallow bow as she began to play the accompaniment, then lifted his strong, deep voice, pronouncing the French far better in song than he did in speech.

"Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici,

"Dévotes gens, crions à Dieu merci!

"Chantons Noël pour le Roi nouvelet,

Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici!

With such a well-known piece to play, Isabel could afford to let her mind wander, and wander it did, predictably to the subject of the dangerously handsome distraction next to her, his blue eyes currently closed in concentration, his black hair rumpled where he’d clutched it in pretended madness earlier while their friends teased him unmercifully. He was, without a doubt, the least annoying boy of her own age of eighteen Isabel had ever met, and being the only daughter of a Marquis, she had met quite a few.

Of course, her lack of annoyance with Nevan might only be because she knew all his secrets, Isabel acknowledged. That included one or two about which she wasn’t sure if he knew that she knew. But thinking about that for long would make her head hurt, and Nevan was looking at her pleadingly, tapping his finger against the second verse on the page. Obligingly, Isabel joined him, adding a high harmony as they brought the melody around again.

"L’ange disait! pasteurs partez d’ici!

"En Bethléem trouverez l’angelet.

"Chantons Noël pour le Roi nouvelet,

Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici!

In the depths of her mind, Isabel could admit that she was uneasy about what she was beginning to feel for Nevan. Many of the secrets she knew about him, including one of those she wasn’t meant to know, would have made him completely ineligible as even the most platonic of friends for her by the rules of Polite Society, had they become common knowledge. The sort of relations she truly wanted, or was starting to think that she did, were so far outside the pale that she was sure they would have been literally unthinkable for many of the girls with whom she had gone to school…

Enough of that, Nevan said, cutting her off as she made to begin the tune for a third time. It’s pretty enough, but it’s too… He waved a hand in the air, waggling his fingers as though trying to indicate the word he meant. Frilly, he said at last.

Frilly? Isabel covered a giggle with her hand. Can a song be frilly?

Laugh at me all you want to, it’s still true. Nevan lifted the book of music off the rack and began to page through it, speaking absently as he did. It’s a good enough tune, but it’s all fluff. Nothing much to it. Now this. He set the book back down with a small thump. This is more in my line.

Oh, I love this carol, Isabel said with feeling, laying her fingers against the page. "It’s so strong, so real. It makes you feel as though you truly were there in Bethlehem that night, being called by the angels to come and see the most important baby who ever was…"

My point exactly. Nevan nodded, smiling at her in the slow, lazy fashion which was so unlike his rakish grin, but either of which could make her heart pound ridiculously against her ribs. This is more what Christmas should be, not the other. The other takes all the heart out of it, makes it just a pretty little story for children, and that’s not what it is at all, or not what it ought to be. It’s meant to be a time for waking up, Christmas is, a time for speaking out about what you believe and who you follow. He was pounding a fist slowly into his other hand, emphasizing his words with every impact. "A happy time, yes, but a strong happiness. Almost fierce…"

Triumphant, Isabel murmured. Joyful and triumphant.

That’s it! Nevan flung his hands out in her direction, his grin returning. "You’ve hit it exactly, Lady Isabel—Christmas ought to be a time for triumph, for celebrating a victory! What else is the birth of the Word made flesh, the Child who’ll save the whole world from sin someday? What else?"

His exuberance was infectious, as Isabel found herself grinning back at him like a fool. Almost, she opened her mouth to tell him of the joy growing in her heart, of the triumph she desired for both of them, the victory she hoped her love might win over the scruples of her world about his own birth and hers—

She turned hastily back to the pianoforte and began to play this new piece, hoping that her flushed face, her rapid breathing could be seen as enjoyment of the music rather than a sign of anything else.

There might come a day when such joy and such a triumph could be rightfully, openly theirs. Until then, she would content herself with its outward, musical expression.

* * * * *

Adeste fideles, laeti triumphantes,

Venite, venite in Bethlehem.

Natum videte Regem angelorum.

Venite adoremus,

Reviews for Sing We Now of Christmas

[chazzarcturus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm always a little nervous when it comes to volumes of short stories. They are usually so variable. Such was the case here.I really enjoyed "Glorious Song of Old". It is about a young girl named Carol who has grown up in a world where music is banned. She has vague memories of music and has a talent for it so she feels a great longing for this forbidden fruit. A traveling exhibit of aliens comes to her dark and depressing world and she finds a kindred spirit ... and then some. This story struck a chord with me."The Angel and the Rose" is a costumed Christmas wedding with quite a twist. Interesting, but not quite my style.I couldn't even find a story in "Laeti Triumphantes". Seems like something is missing, perhaps?